Our Story
by Durotos
Summary: Blushes, fond gazes, flowers, and sweet nothings topped off with a heart-pounding confession- Mary had practically become an expert on love though her countless romance stories and daydreams. When a fellow writer literally stumbles into her life, Mary realizes everything she thought she knew about romance and courtship was nothing more than pretty words on paper. FOMT/ANB


Mary could still remember the time she first saw him. He nearly fell into her as she opened the door. His yukata hung open a little, exposing a peek of chest hair. She quickly shifted her eyes on his face. It was angular with heavy brows, dancing brown eyes, and a strong chin. His long chocolate hair was tousled and seemed to have a mind of its own. It was three o'clock in the morning, he loosely had his arm wrapped around her father's shoulder, and the two of them were staggering a bit.

They were both clearly drunk, giggling like a pair of adolescents at a slumber party.

"Quiet, now, or we'll wake Anna," Basil had shushed in a whisper that was roughly the volume of a loudly spoken voice. He was so concerned with disturbing his wife that he didn't think to question why his daughter was still awake and still dressed in her work clothes, no less. "There's a good girl, Mary. Could you grab a couple of blankets from the linen closet? Soseki here's gonna crash here for the night." Her father walked past her to the kitchen to take a few aspirin in hopes of preventing a hangover.

Mary's eyebrows rose in suspicion. Upon realizing she was mimicking a disapproving expression she had seen her mother make daily during idle gossip, she scrunched her eyebrows down, causing them to furrow.

The corner of their guest's mouth turned ever so slightly upward; he was clearly entertained by her display. "Thanks, Mary. You're a peach." His words were deep and melodic, with a hint of a slur.

She caught the glint in his warm brown eyes, the smile in his voice. She had written about interactions such as this countless times, but she found that when it was done in person, it wasn't as magical.

_I bet he thinks he's charming._

The young woman resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she walked to the hall closet. Whether it was at Soseki's playfulness or the fact that her inward dialogue reminded her of the babbling women in the town square every afternoon, she wasn't quite sure.

"Your father's been telling me a bit about you," he continued from the other side of the room, too tipsy to remember Basil's instructions to keep their volume down. "A writer, huh?"

He stretched his arms over his head with a dramatic yawn, the tips of his fingers just inches away from grazing the ceiling. Mary caught his actions out of the corner of her eye, opting for the longer blankets.

"A librarian, technically speaking. But… well, I, uh… I dabble a bit. In writing, I mean," she admitted shyly, pulling the corners of a blanket across the couch. It wasn't as if she really had anything to brag about.

_It's not like he really cares. He's just attempting to be polite._

Being the focus of the conversation made her uncomfortable. She focused on the blanket, smoothing out the creases. She felt the other end of the fabric lift as he pulled the other side of the cover into place.

"Something tells me you're not telling the whole truth." His voice had sobered as his dark eyes bored into her, his thick brows slightly raised.

It was so different from his previous behavior that Mary found herself jumping a bit when their eyes met. He cocked his head toward the recliner, stacked with tattered notebooks, her favorite red pen tucked into the wire binding, a knowing look in his expressions.

"You must be pretty dedicated to be doing a bit of late night writing at this hour."

After a few pointed comments from her mother about not socializing enough, Mary had been trying to spend less time in the library writing her novel and more time making herself available to guests. She supposed it was better customer service, but Gray came in at the same time every day, gave a friendly grunt of acknowledgement, and plopped down at his usual desk, lost in his usual action novels. It wasn't as if the library was swarming with guests, and she seriously doubted that her changed behaviors had much of an impact on anything at all.

"_The Echoes in the Dawn…_" Soseki thoughtfully scratched the stubble on his chin. "I suppose it does have a nice ring to it, but it does sound a little generic, no?"

Mary's cheeks flushed. She wasn't exactly sure what to say about this stranger. Mary looked back at her notebooks, a feeling a little violated that he had peeked at her work while her back was turned and had the nerve to comment on it. It was times like these when she wished she had a stood up for herself a little bit more…

"Ah, you sound like Mr. Hartwig over at Elm Run Press." Basil left the kitchen area, taking off his hat and rubbing a hand through his brown locks.

"Not exactly what I was going for," Soseki replied with a rueful smile. "That man's the stuff of nightmares."

Mary wasn't aware she had cocked her head in curiosity; this man was referring to her father's boss as if he knew him personally.

"Your father and I work for the same publisher," he explained. "They've published quite a few of my articles."

"Oh?"

Basil let out a loud yawn. "How about we talk about it in the morning? It's past the point of being late. See you in the morning, Soseki."

He gave Mary's father a polite nod as he accepted the second blanket from Mary's hands. "A good night to the both of you. Thank you for your hospitality."

Mary scurried over toward the recliner and scooped up her stack of notebooks, holding them protectively against her chest. Cheeks burning, she gave him a quick nod and followed her father upstairs to the bedrooms.

_**0o0o0o0**_

_**Author's Note: This is a little late for the summer prompt, but I wanted to get this idea out anyway. I like the idea of two very different personalities coming together despite similar passions, and I'm excited to play with these characters. I hope you enjoyed! This is the first installment. I'm planning on somewhere between three and five chapters, and I hope to get this out by the end of the year.**_


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